Kiln.



J. RALSTON.

KILN.

APPLICATION men JUNE 30. 1915.

1,200,132. Patented Oct. 3,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

a Tiii 3mm Jis'qai fawn l. RALSTON.

KILN.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30. I9I5- 3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Wihwoo JOSEPH RALSTON, OF GRANT PARK, ILLINOIS.

KILN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 191

Application filed June 30, 1915. Serial No. 37,290.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrn RALSTON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Grant Park, in the county of Kankakee and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Kilns, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in kilns, especially thattype adapted for burning tile and brick.

The object of my construction is to,,.provide an arrangement designed toobtain or insure a uniformity in the firingfprocess at all points withrespect to the objectsto be fired, with a view to obtaining a superiorproduct.

In constructions ofthis character, the dif ficulty which is mostfrequently encountered is the application of the'heat or fire so as tobe as efiective at onev point as another, or in other words, so that theintensity of the heat at the top and center of'the articles to be burnedwill be practically the same as at the bottom or the nearest point'ofappli-' cation of said heat. Not only is this ac oomplished by myinvention, but a further advantageous feature incident thereto is thecontrol of the source of heat such that the even distribution withrespect to the objects contained in the kiln is obtained.

With the above and other objects in view, this invention consists in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts all as hereinaftermore fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

' Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a kiln constructed inaccordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view takenabout on the plane indicated by the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is avertical sectional view on the planeindicated by theline 3-3 of Fig. 2.Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front ele vation of one of the firing'holes,parts being broken away and shown in section. Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview of one of the damper members disposed for cooperating with alateral outlet for the heating chamber. Fig. 6 is a similar view of atype of damper or valve for the covering of the chamber. Fig. 7 is ahorizontal sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1.

Throughout the following detail description, andon the several figuresofthe drawposed;

'neath the floor 11 of said chamber.

is introduced into said chamber through the ings, similar parts arereferred to by like reference characters.

Describing the preferred construction of my type of kiln and referringto the draw ings 1, 2 designate-what may be termed, for the purposes ofthis description, the end walls of the kiln, and 3, 4, the side wallsthereof, forming a substantially rectangular chainber or housing inwhich the' plastic materialto be fired is adapted to be dis- The chamberthus constituted is provided-with a covering or roof, of any desiredconstruction, but, preferably, as disnumber of firing holes or boxes 7beneath each of which is located the ashpit 8. It will be apparent,particularly by-reference to Fig. 2 of the drawing, that a series ofthese fire holes is arrangedin each end of the kiln, and, furthermore,that said fire holes are alternately arranged with respect 7 to eachother for reasons hereinafter to be more fully disclosed. The fire.holes being arranged below the surface of the ground,

obviously protect the fires as is desirable in I constructions of thischaracter. At one end aretaining wall 9 is built in spaced relation tothe fire holes at this side so as to provide suitable space for firingand removal of ashes. Each fire box? communicates with the interior ofthe chamber through a flue or passage 10 extending longitudinallyTple-1S floor is preferably constructed of tile, brick or similar material towithstand and retain heat, and arranged within the chamber, at each endthereof is a deflecting wall 12, spaced from the contiguous end wall asuitable distance to allow the fire or heat to pass between the same andinto the'upper portion of said chamber. The material to be fired doorway13 and arranged between the defleeting walls 12 hereinbefore described.It

baffle 14 which extends substantially the en- 105 tire length of thepassage, the function of said bafiie being to spread the fire and toinsure effective heating of the floor surface hereinbefore mentioned sothat said heat issubstantially as effective at this portion as at thebottom of the heating chamber beneath which the flues extend. In orderto bring or draw the heat and flame, as desired, downwardly, within thischamber and about the objects to be fired, I provide a plurality orseries of outlets 15 in each of the side walls 3, 4, these openingscommunicating with a lateralpassage 16' at each side of theconstruction, said passagesleading to V a stack or chimney 17. The innerwall for the passage 16, designated 16 is disposed in spaced relationto'the fire boxes at this end of the kiln to conform to the spaced wall9 at th'e opposite end.

Each of the outlets 15 is provided with a damper 'of any desiredconstruction, such as illustrated in Fig. 5 and designated 18, saiddamper being provided with a handle '19. so as to 'enable'the outlet tobe properly con- 7 trolled. Now it will be observed that the fire boxesare located in the ends of the'kiln and the diametrically oppositeoutlets 15 in the sides thereof so that the regulation'of these outletswill draw; the heat in these lateral directions and thereby obtain amost uniform distribution or circulation of the heat'within the "firingchamber. If more heat is desired in any one point, the dampercorresponding to this location may be opened a greater extent andthereby draw the heat toward said location, as desired,

and likewise reduction of the heat at the desired'point may beaccomplished by closing of the proper damper.

The elfective control of excess heat within the chamber is accomplishedby the operation of damper valves 20 which are provided for openings 21inthe covering for the heating chamber, one of said dampers beingillustrated" in Flg. 6/ Manual operating,

members 22 are connected to the dampers in any desired manner so thatwhen the heat in the kiln becomes excessive said valves vmay be openedand the excess heat allowed 'tie rod :24;

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that a most effectivecontrol may be exercised over the heating action with this constructionof kiln and by proper manipulation, a uniform distribution of the heatis secured, necessarily resulting in a better product than is obtainablewith the use of kilns not provided with heat sources and outlet controlssituated in the manner hereinbefore described. 1

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new is:

A kiln of the class described comprising a chamber, a series of heatsources located at one side of said chamber, below the floor thereof, asecond series ofv heat sources similarly located at the opposite side ofsaid chamber from-the first series, passages leading from the respectiveheat sources to the interior of the chamber, opposite deflectingwalls'in the chamber arranged transversely of the respective passageswhereby to direct the heat to the upper portion of said chamber,plurality of outlets arranged adjacent to the bottom of the chamber ateach of the other sides thereof from the heat sources, a stack at oneend of the kiln, a flue at each openings to'more or less controlexcessive :heat in the chamber and counteract the draft through thelateral outlets aforesaid.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOSEPH RALSTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe"-Gommissioner of Eatenta.

' Washington, D. c. V r

